In Dragons We Trust
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: "I'll be back for you. I promise." A little drabble about Hiccup and his thoughts while he is saying goodbye to Toothless in the Riders of Berk episode, "In Dragons We Trust."


**This is an out-of-no-where idea that I got while watching "In Dragons We Trust." CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SAID EPISODE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I normally don't write angst, but I think this counts. :) I hope I don't make you guys too sad. **

"These dragons have done too much damage," my Dad said. "It's no longer safe to have them on Berk. I want them gone."

"WHAT!?" I shouted.

"Finally!" shouted Mildew happily. I balled my fists in anger. It was his fault to begin with. It was all his fault.

"Round them up, and take them all to Dragon Island," my Dad told me. Then, he turned to address the angry villagers. "By the end of the day tomorrow," he said, "there will be no more dragons on Berk!"

Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the twins and I gasped.

"Oh, what a glorious day that will be," said Mildew dreamily. "Party at my house!" As he walked away, he looked at me, and hissed, "Don't forget, boy. Right after you drop off your dragon, you'll be fixing my roof."

He and many of the other villagers left at that moment, leaving me with the Academy Dragon Riders and our dragons.

"This is wrong…" I started.

"I know, it's horrible," said Astrid. "It's the worst day of my life-"

"No, Astrid," I said. "Something here doesn't add up."

"All I know is I'm losing my dragon," said Fishlegs, sounding on the verge of tears.

"For now, yeah," I said, trying to sound calm, although on the inside, I was panicking. I was going to lose Toothless, for who knew how long. Quite possibly forever...if nothing changed…

"Okay…" I said, "but I-I just need time to fix this."

"What are you talking about?" Snotlout snapped. "It's over."

"Forget it, it's over," Ruffnut repeated.

"Yeah, forget it," said Tuffnut.

No, it wasn't over. I wasn't going to forget it. For now, though, I had to do what my Dad told me to do, no matter how much I would hate doing it.

...

We flew our dragons to Dragon Island the next morning, a Berkian ship following us from below. We would land on Dragon Island, leave our dragons behind, and then board the ship, going back to Berk.

We all rode our dragons, because we didn't know when the next time we would see them would be. For all I knew, it could have been years, while at the same time, it could have been never.

I looked down at Toothless and rubbed his head gently just before we landed. As he alighted on the ground, I slid off his back and began undoing the straps to his saddle.

Next to me, across from me, and all around me, my friends were doing the same, hugging their dragons afterwards, saying their goodbyes.

"I'm gonna miss you," said Astrid to her Nadder, gently placing a hand on her chin. Stormfly croaked sadly, her eyes growing wider as she came to the realization that they were being forced to stay behind.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were hugging the dragon heads they usually sat on, and then once that was done, they switched places, hugging the opposite head.

Fishlegs was stacking stones; Meatlung really liked eating rocks, so he was picking out her favorite. "Okay, Meatlung," said Fishlegs, "there's plenty of rocks if you get hungry…" He took the saddle off her back, sniffling. "And don't eat any limestone," he said. "You know it doesn't agree with you."

"Be strong, buddy," said Snotlout to Hookfang. "I know you're gonna miss me-"

Hookfang caught sight of a bird, and instantly ran off to chase it while Snotlout watched him sadly.

"Okay," said Snotlout. Hookfang didn't even spare him a second glance. "He's crying...he's crying on the inside," said Snotlout, wiping his eyes.

I stood up from where I was kneeling down next to Toothless, putting his saddle underneath one of my arms while my other hand gently lifted his chin so he could look at me.

"I'll be back for you," I said. "I promise." I felt tears sting my eyes, but I forced them back. No, I couldn't cry. Not now. Not in front of Toothless. Turning away, I walked back towards the ship. I didn't walk four steps before I realized Toothless was following me.

"No, bud!" I said. I could feel the tears coming now; oh please, not now. Not when I was trying to reassure the dragon that everything would be alright in the end. "You've gotta stay here…" I swallowed hard, "...and take care of the other dragons."

I held my hand out to him, and paused. His eyes met mine, and I finally let a tear fall. He looked so scared; so sad, heartbroken…

_I looked at him, and I saw myself… _

This situation awakened so many of my previous thoughts, giving them a whole new meaning at the same time.

_...He looked just as frightened as I was_.

_Toothless became more than my friend. He became the friend, who gave me my purpose. _

_I'll do anything for my dragon… _

_Everything we know about you guys is wrong. _

_Bad dragon, very bad dragon! You scared me to death! Don't ever stay away that long again! _

_Trust me… _

"It's gonna be okay, Toothless," I promised, trying for a smile, although I was pretty sure it didn't look convincing. "Trust me."

Toothless lifted his head, looking at me as I held my hand out to him. After a slight hesitation, he pressed his nose gently into the palm of my hand.

_I trust you_.

Then I lost it. After taking a deep, shuddering breath, and hesitating just for a few seconds, I dropped the saddle, knelt down, and wrapped my arms around my dragon's neck.

We sat there for what felt like forever, until I pulled away, put my hand once more on Toothless' muzzle, and then let go, turning away from him. I set the saddle down a few feet away; I would come back for it. No need to take it back to Berk.

Toothless was trailing me the entire time, until I stood up once more, and nodded, just slightly. Without another worse elsewise, I turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the ship.

Toothless didn't follow me, and I made the mistake of looking back. The Night Fury was curled into himself, eying me with an expression that made my heart nearly break in half.

_I bet he's really frightened now…_ Astrid's voice rang in my head. It was so long ago she had said that to me; I had almost forgotten about it, actually.

I subconsciously boarded the ship, resting my hand against the mast as we headed back towards Berk.

_...what are you going to do about it? _

"I'm going to fix this," I whispered to myself, finally letting my tears fall as I looked back at Toothless and the dragons one last time. "I promised."

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**OOPS MY HAND SLIPPED! **

**Okay, so I was recently re-watching "In Dragons We Trust," and this drabble came to mind. You can only imagine what was rushing through the riders' heads as they said goodbye to their dragons… **

**And Hiccup...oh man, **_**Hiccup**_**. You could see the tears in his eyes as he said goodbye to the best friend he had, and then Toothless...the way he looked at Hiccup...the way Hiccup looked back at him...the way Hiccup's voice wavered and shook...the way he hugged him just before saying goodbye…**

**AND NOW I WROTE THIS DRABBLE AND MADE IT ALL WORSE! **

**I hope this turned out good. It's been on my mind for a while now, and I finally got to writing it. I hope you all liked reading it. :) **

**-BeyondTheClouds777**


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